The pitter patter of tiny feet (part one)

 A Gremlin Warren

This is a twisting winding series of tiny passages, that tunnel within the mountain, connecting many chambers in both the Eyrie and the first level of the Found Tombs of Arvakaten, as well as supplying several exits to the mountain slopes. It is inhabited by a tribe of Gremlins known as the Red Claw tribe - each Gremlin has dyed their left hand red in honour of their patron deity, Dhaktili, God of the Underworld.

All tunnels are around a metre high, and the ceilings of any chambers are not much bigger. While Halflings, Gnomes other small folk will suffer no penalties within these cramped confines, Dwarfs and Goblins must subtract -1 from their SKILL score and Attack Strength, while Elf, Human, Orc and other races must suffer a -3 penalty. Rhinofolk, Half-Ogres, Trolls and so on, are completely unable to fit within the tunnels unless they use a way of magically shrinking their size, or attempt to excavate the entire mountain!

All spots on the map that are marked 'G' are Gremlin Guardposts, with two guards, one who will challenge intruders while the other slips away to warn the rest of the tribe.

2 GREMLIN GUARDS, SKILL 4 STAMINA 4, Dagger or Shortbow. Light Armour. The Gremlin weapons are made from bones and covered in a crude home-made Blade Venom that resembles viscous black sludge and causes +1 STAMINA damage for any successful hit that wounds (hits whose damage is fully absorbed by armour don't count). The Blade Venom lasts for one combat only, before it has to be reapplied.

In addition to a dagger, a shortbow, and a quiver of 6 arrows, each guard also has a helmet made from skull bones, 1-6 Copper Pieces, 1-3 SP and their left hand is painted red.

Central Nest (#21/30, #325/365)

The description for this chamber depends on whether the Heroes are being stealthy or not. If they are, the chamber will be as described. If not, the chamber will be empty, but the connecting tunnels will be full of Gremlins ready to ambush the Heroes from all sides if they enter the nest.

"This large circular chamber, whose ceiling is still only just over a metre in height, is full of industry. You see Gremlins engaged in various tasks, from making red dye, to working with clay to sculpt clay hands, to sharpening bones into daggers, to sewing sackclothes together to make garments, to stripping flesh (and bone) from dead animals and salting it for food. All of the creatures are screeching at each other with their high-pitched voices in a language that sounds suspiciously like a version of the Goblin tongue."

Contents: Unless the Heroes are accompanied by guards, or presenting as merchants and traders, the Gremlins will attack immediately, but flee into the tunnels once half their number have been cut down.

The Gremlins speak Gremlin (which is a dialect of Goblin), Goblin, and some Allansian. They are happy to trade, but if the Heroes look especially weak or wounded, the Gremlins will consider them easy pickings and attack.

Items for purchase and trade:

• 4-24 clay gourds of red dye (costs 3SP a gourd). Gremlins will purchase ochre rocks (5SP per rock) and Redberries, Red-Topped Fungus and Red Lotus at village prices.
• 3-18 red clay hands. Not for sale. Gremlins will purchase clay at 1GP per large clod (double for high-quality pottery clay).
• 3-18 Bone Daggers. Same as regular Dagger, except immune to rust such as Ironbane. Cost 2GP each. Gremlins do not require any bones.
• 2-12 Gremlin-sized sack-cloth tunics, cost 5SP a tunic. Gremlins will buy sacks and cloth at 1GP per item.
• 2-7 Salted provisions (cost: 3GP per provision). Gremlins don't need meat, but will buy a jar of Salt for 5GP.
  

Stats:

5-30 GREMLINS, SKILL 4 STAMINA 3, Dagger. The Gremlin's Dagger is made from bone and covered in a crude home-made Blade Venom that resembles viscous black sludge and causes +1 STAMINA damage for any successful hit that wounds (hits whose damage is fully absorbed by armour don't count). The Blade Venom lasts for one combat only, before it has to be reapplied.

In addition to their dagger, each Gremlin also has 1-6 Copper Pieces, 1-3 SP and their left hand is painted red.